Design and Verification of an FPGA-based Bit Error Rate Tester

Abstract Bit error rate (BER) is the principle measure of performance of a data transmission link. With the integration of high-speed transceivers inside a field programmable gate array (FPGA), the BER testing can now be handled by transceiver-enabled FPGA hardware. This provides a cheaper alternative to dedicated table-top equipment and offers the flexibility of test customization and data analysis. This paper presents a BER tester implementation based on the Altera Stratix II GX and IV GT development boards. The architecture of the tester is described. Lab test results and field test data analysis are discussed. The Stratix II GX tester operates at up to 5 Gbps and the Stratix IV GT tester operates at up to 10 Gbps, both in 4 duplex channels. The tester deploys a pseudo random bit sequence (PRBS) generator and detector, a transceiver controller, and an error logger. It also includes a computer interface for data acquisition and user configuration. The tester's functionality was validated and its performance characterized in a point-to-point serial optical link setup. BER vs. optical receiver sensitivity was measured to emulate stressed link conditions. The Stratix II GX tester was also used in a proton test on a custom designed serializer chip to record and analyse radiation-induced errors.